TOPLINE:

In patients who experienced an acute myocardial infarction (MI), an increased volume of epicardial adipose tissue — the layer of fat between the heart muscle and the outer heart lining — was associated with an increased extent of myocardial injury after MI.

METHODOLOGY:

• In this prospective multicenter study, researchers evaluated whether the volume of epicardial adipose tissue was linked to the severity of myocardial injury after an acute MI.
• They enrolled 1168 patients who underwent cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging within 10 days after a percutaneous coronary intervention following an acute MI.
• Patients were divided into quartiles based on the volumes of epicardial adipose tissue.

TAKEAWAY:

• A higher volume of epicardial adipose tissue was independently associated with a greater size of infarct (P = .032) and larger areas at risk (P = .018) but a lower microvascular obstruction (P = .012).
• Researchers found no significant differences in left ventricular ejection fraction between patients with larger and smaller volumes of epicardial adipose tissue.
• Patients in the upper quartile of volume of epicardial adipose tissue were older than those in the lower quartile (66 vs 63 years; P = .002) and had higher BMI (28.9 vs 27.4; P = .001).

IN PRACTICE:

“MI occurs at a relatively late stage in the development of coronary artery disease, and it may be possible to intervene earlier in the process, identifying patients with elevated [epicardial adipose tissue] volume and modulating effects as a preventive measure,” concluded Alexander Schulz, senior author of the study.

SOURCE:

This study was presented by Clara Hagedorn of University Hospital Göttingen in Göttingen, Germany, at the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) 2025 on December 12.

LIMITATIONS:

No limitations were explicitly mentioned in this press release.

DISCLOSURES:

Schulz reported receiving funding from the German Research Foundation and German Centre for Cardiovascular Research. No other disclosures were reported for this study. 

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.